This invention relates to methods and devices for inducing angiogenesis in ischemic tissue.
Tissue becomes ischemic when it is deprived of adequate blood flow. Ischemia causes pain in the area of the affected tissue and, in the case of muscle tissue, can interrupt muscular function. Left untreated, ischemic tissue can become infarcted and permanently non-functioning. Ischemia can be caused by a blockage in the vascular system that prohibits oxygenated blood from reaching the affected tissue area. However, ischemic tissue can be revived to function normally despite the deprivation of oxygenated blood because ischemic tissue can remain in a hibernating state, preserving its viability for some time. Restoring blood flow to the ischemic region serves to revive the ischemic tissue.
Although ischemia can occur in various regions of the body, often tissue of the heart, the myocardium, is affected by ischemia due to coronary artery disease, occlusion of the coronary artery, which otherwise provides blood to the myocardium. Muscle tissue affected by ischemia can cause pain to the individual affected. Ischemia can be treated, if a tissue has remained viable despite the deprivation of oxygenated blood, by restoring blood flow to the affected tissue.
Treatment of myocardial ischemia has been addressed by several techniques designed to restore blood supply to the affected region. Coronary artery bypass grafting CABG involves grafting a venous segment between the aorta and the coronary artery to bypass the occluded portion of the artery. Once blood flow is redirected to the portion of the coronary artery beyond the occlusion, the supply of oxygenated blood is restored to the area of ischemic tissue.
Early researchers, more than thirty years ago, reported promising results for revascularizing the myocardium by piercing the muscle to create multiple channels for blood flow. Sen, P. K. et al., xe2x80x9cTransmyocardial Acupuncturexe2x80x94A New Approach to Myocardial Revascularizationxe2x80x9d, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol. 50, No. 2, August 1965, pp. 181-189. Although others have reported varying degrees of success with various methods of piercing the myocardium to restore blood flow to the muscle, many have faced common problems such as closure of the created channels. Various techniques of perforating the muscle tissue to avoid closure have been reported by researchers. These techniques include piercing with a solid sharp tip wire, hypodermic tube and physically stretching the channel after its formation. Reportedly, many of these methods still produced trauma and tearing of the tissue that ultimately led to closure of the channel.
An alternative method of creating channels that potentially avoids the problem of closure involves the use of laser technology. Researchers have reported success in maintaining patent channels in the myocardium by forming the channels with the heat energy of a laser. Mirhoseini, M. et al., xe2x80x9cRevascularization of the Heart by Laserxe2x80x9d, Journal of Microsurgery, Vol. 2, No. 4, June 1981, pp. 253-260. The laser was said to form channels in the tissue were clean and made without tearing and trauma, suggesting that scarring does not occur and the channels are less likely to experience the closure that results from healing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,843 (Abela et al.) dicloses creating laser-made TMR channels utilizing a catheter based system. Abela also discloses a magnetic navigation system to guide the catheter to the desired position within the heart. Aita U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,316 and 5,389,096 disclose another approach to a catheter based system for TMR.
Although there has been some published recognition of the desirability of performing transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) in a non-laser catheterization procedure, there does not appear to be evidence that such procedures have been put into practice. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,144 Wilk discloses inserting an expandable implant within a preformed channel created within the myocardium for the purposes of creating blood flow into the tissue from the left ventricle.
Performing TMR by placing stents in the myocardium is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,836 (Hussein et al.). The Hussein patent discloses several stent embodiments that are delivered through the epicardium of the heart, into the myocardium and positioned to be open to the left ventricle. The stents are intended to maintain an open channel in the myocardium through which blood enters from the ventricle and perfuses into the myocardium.
Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels in tissue, has been the subject of increased study in recent years. Such blood vessel growth to provide new supplies of oxygenated blood to a region of tissue has the potential to remedy a variety of tissue and muscular ailments, particularly ischemia. Primarily, study has focused on perfecting angiogenic factors such as human growth factors produced from genetic engineering techniques. It has been reported that injection of such a growth factor into myocardial tissue initiates angiogenesis at that site, which is exhibited by a new dense capillary network within the tissue. Schumacher et al., xe2x80x9cInduction of Neo-Angiogenesis in Ischemic Myocardium by Human Growth Factorsxe2x80x9d, Circulation, 1998; 97:645-650. The authors noted that such treatment could be an approach to management of diffused coronary heart disease after alternative methods of administration have been developed.
The vascular inducing implants of the present invention provide a mechanism for initiating angiogenesis within ischemic tissue. The implants interact with the surrounding tissue in which they are implanted and the blood that is present in the tissue to initiate angiogenesis by various mechanisms.
Primarily, it is expected that the implants will trigger angiogenesis in the ischemic tissue by interacting in one or more ways with the tissue to initiate an injury response. The body""s response to tissue injury involves thrombosis formation at the site of the injury or irritation. Thrombosis leads to arterioles and fibrin growth which is believed to ultimately lead to new blood vessel growth to feed the new tissue with blood. The new blood vessels that develop in this region also serve to supply blood to the surrounding area of ischemic tissue that was previously deprived of oxygenated blood.
The presence of the implants in the tissue, alone, may trigger a foreign body response leading to endothelialization and fibrin growth around the implant. However, the implants of the present invention are specially configured to interact with the surrounding tissue to induce angiogenesis by a variety of mechanisms.
Implant embodiments of the invention serve to initiate angiogenesis by providing a chamber or interior into which blood may enter and collect leading to thrombosis. The implants are configured to have a wall defining an interior, with at least one opening in the wall to permit passage of blood into and from the interior. The material and structure of the implants permits them to be flexible such that the implant compresses when the surrounding tissue contracts and the implant returns to an uncompressed configuration when the surrounding tissue relaxes. Cyclical compression and expansion of the implant in concert with the motion of the surrounding tissue creates a pumping action, drawing blood into the implant interior when expanded, then expelling the blood when the implant is compressed. One of the openings of the implant may include a check valve to control the flow of blood from the implant interior. Blood that enters the interior of the implant and remains, evenly temporarily, tends to coagulate and thrombose. Over time, continued pooling of the blood in the interior will cause thrombosis and fibrin growth throughout the interior of the implant and into the surrounding tissue. New blood vessels will grow to serve the new growth with oxygenated blood, the process of angiogenesis.
Some embodiments are configured to have a high degree of flexibility such hat they collapse completely under the compressive force of surrounding tissue in contraction. The highly flexible implants are configured to return to their uncompressed, volume defining shape when the surrounding tissue relaxes. The reduction of the volume defined by the interior to practically zero provides significant volume change providing pronounced pumping action to maximize blood exchange through the interior. Thrombosis can occur naturally in the highly flexible embodiments despite the increased blood flow through the interior. However, the highly flexible embodiments are also well suited to pump out into surrounding tissue substances pre-installed within their interior.
Implant embodiments may further be prepared to initiate angiogenesis by having a thrombus of blood associated with them at the time of their implantation or inserted in the interior immediately following implantation. The thrombus of blood may be taken from the patient prior to the implant procedure and is believed to help initiate the tissue""s healing response which leads to angiogenesis.
Alternatively or in addition to a thrombus of blood, the implant devices may be preloaded with an angiogenic substance in a variety of ways to aid the process of angiogenesis in embodiments having a defined chamber or interior, the substance may be placed within the interior prior to implantation or injected after the implantation of the device. The substance may be fluid or solid. The blood flow into and interacting with the interior of the device will serve to distribute the substance through the surrounding tissue area because blood entering the device mixes with and then carries away the substance as it leaves the device. Viscosity of the substance and opening size through which it passes, determine the time-release rate of the substance.
Substances may be associated with the device, not only by being carried within their interiors, but also by application of a coating to the device. Alternatively, the substance may be dispersed in the composition of the device material. Alternatively, the implant may be fabricated entirely of the angiogenic substance. Recognizing that there are many ways to attach an angiogenic substance or drug to a device, the methods listed above are provided merely as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Regardless of the method of association, the implants of the present invention interact with the surrounding blood and tissue to distribute the angiogenic substance into the ischemic tissue.
Additionally, each implant embodiment serves to provide a constant source of irritation and injury to the tissue in which it is implanted, thereby initiating the healing process in that tissue that is believed to lead to angiogenesis. As tissue surrounding the implant moves, such as the contraction and relaxation of muscle tissue, some friction and abrasion from the implant occurs, which injures the tissue. The injury caused by the outside surfaces of the implants to the surrounding tissue does not substantially destroy the tissue, but is sufficient to instigate an injury response and healing which leads to angiogenesis.
Structurally, the implant devices may be configured in a variety of shapes to carry out the objectives outlined above for initiating angiogenesis. Additionally, varying degrees of flexibility are acceptable for carrying out the implant function. By way of example, the implant device may comprise a capsule or tubular shaped device formed from a flexible material such as a polymer or superelastic metal alloy and having at least one opening to the device interior to permit blood to enter and exit.
One or more implants of the present invention may be applied to an area of ischemic tissue. By way of example, the implants may define a width of approximately 2 mm and a length corresponding to somewhat less than the thickness of the tissue into which it is implanted. It is anticipated that implants having a 2 mm wide profile would serve an area of ischemic tissue of approximately one square centimeter to adequately promote angiogenesis throughout the surrounding region of tissue yet avoid altering the movement of the tissue due to a high density of foreign objects within a small region.
The devices may be delivered to the intended tissue location percutaneously and transluminally, thoracically or surgically by a cut down method. In the case of implants placed within myocardial tissue of the heart, delivery systems are disclosed for percutaneously accessing the left ventricle of the heart and penetrating and delivering the implant into the myocardium.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of promoting angiogenesis within ischemic tissue.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of promoting angiogenesis by implanting a device within ischemic tissue.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process of promoting angiogenesis within ischemic myocardial tissue of the heart.
It is another object of the invention to provide an implant suitable for implantation within tissue of the human body.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an implant delivery system that is safe and simple to use while minimizing trauma to the patient.
It is another object of the invention to provide an implant that will irritate tissue that surrounds the implant to initiate a healing response that leads to angiogenesis.
It is another object of the invention to provide an implant that is configured to have associated with it an angiogenic substance that promotes angiogenesis within tissue surrounding the implant.
It is another object of the invention to provide an implant configured to interact with blood present in the tissue into which the implant is inserted.
It is another object of the invention to provide an implant that defines an interior into which blood can enter and thrombose.
It is another object of the invention to provide an implant to which a thrombus of blood or an angiogenic substance can be inserted before or after the implant has been inserted into tissue.